"Sir, these are all the war reports that Juyongguan has received in the past six months. Please check them."

Li Pin asked someone to carry the two boxes of battle reports into the large tent of the Central Army in Chenxi. After Chenxi opened it and saw it, he couldn't help but frown and thought to himself:

"Li Pin is too proud of me, do you think I am a god, and I can read so many battle reports? In fact, you can only send a battle report of ten days and half a month at most. I will send a battle report of six months at a time. Could it be that I am tired and I will not give up?"

Seeing Chen Xi standing in front of the box, Li Pin picked up two battle reports and took a look at them casually and put them down. He thought the battle reports he sent were not perfect enough, so he asked: "Sir, do you see if it is necessary to send some more..."

"I just want to check the movements of Tatar Racing near Juyong Pass for more than half a month...at most, no more than one month. There are so many things that I can't finish watching at once." Chen Xi sighed.

Only then did Li Pin realize that he was acting in a state of shame, and said, "I am afraid that the adults would not prepare enough. These... have not been summarized in advance. Do you need to find someone to reorganize them?"

Chen Xi waved his hand: "No need, just look up and have a time mark. General Li, you go back and rest first. I have seen it overnight. If there is any new trend in the Tatars, remember to notify me as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir, please check it first, and then you will give up after that."

Li Pin originally wanted to stay and talk to Chen Xi about the current battle situation, but he did not dare to go against Chen Xi's intentions. He opened his mouth and wanted to speak but stopped, and finally he respectfully said his leave.

In this pass, Li Pin had already handed over the rule of Chen Xi, and regarded himself as Chen Xi's pawn.

Faced with so many battle reports, Chen Xi had a headache and no one came to sort it out for him. All battle reports were written in obscure classical Chinese without punctuation. It was really difficult to find clues about the Tatars from it. He could only pick some relatively important battle reports and review them overnight.

Until midnight, Chen Xi read more than 200 battle reports, and there were very few useful things that could be found. Finally, he became impatient and cleaned up briefly, preparing to go back to his bedside tent to rest.

When Chen Xi walked to the door of the tent, she lifted the thick curtain and found a figure at the door, paced back and forth in the bitter north wind. Chen Xi looked at it and frowned: "General Li, are you... going back or not?"

Li Pin came over and saluted Chen Xi respectfully: "Sir, I have always wanted to say something to you before, but I don't know whether it should be said or not? I have no answer after thinking for a long time, so I have to come back and ask you for advice."

"Tell me."

Chen Xi knew that the words had already been opened, so he would have to ask clearly afterwards.

Li Link: "Sir, this is true. Juyong Pass is the northern gate of the capital of the Ming Dynasty. It is also the most important place. It has always been a battle for military strategists. However, the world has been peaceful for a long time. Juyong Pass has not been attacked by foreign barbarians for a long time, so the defense of the city has been lax. Now the actual troops are less than 5,000. Excluding the elderly, weak, sick and disabled, and temporary recruitment of civilians, the number of actual soldiers is only 3,500. If the northern barbarians suddenly come, the gate... may be powerless to stop it!"

Chen Xi wants to answer, so what?

This is the defense of the border between Daming and Daming. It is impossible to fully equip all soldiers. In addition to the lack of military resources and local people's escape, it is also because of the lack of military resources.

Chen Xi frowned: "In recent years, the military service phenomenon has been serious in the northwest border?"

"this……"

Li Pin's face was full of embarrassment, "In the past ten years before Jiwei, the northwest used troops relatively frequently, and frequently drew troops from Juyongguan."

"After Jiwei, the border has stabilized, and the three borders have successively stationed troops and farmed, and military households have been transferred from Juyongguan to guard the border. At the same time, the people in Yanqing Prefecture have chosen to move inward, so that there are no soldiers in Juyongguan to replenish them, and even the elderly, weak, sick and disabled cannot be replaced. Now the war is getting tight, and everyone has to go to the city wall. Once the Tatars have strongly attacked the gates... they are afraid that the city will be inadequate!"

He spoke sincerely and talked about a reality of the Ming Dynasty.

When the Ming Dynasty established the dynasty, the territory was determined, and there were basically no major changes since then. Although emperors of all dynasties encouraged the reclaiming of wasteland in the nine borders, the population growth was still slow.

Even if there are many idle land on the nine sides, the people are unwilling to farm, but choose to flee to the south, because no one is willing to live in an area that may be haunted by nomadic peoples on the grassland at any time.

On the contrary, inland areas such as Jiangnan, Guangdong and Guangxi have expanded populations, which not only has the natural increase in Dingkou for many years, but also an important factor in the migratory population.

The people in the Nine Borders have decreased, and the Ming Dynasty needs to replenish troops. It is obviously not enough to rely on military households alone, because there will always be losses in the war. It is not that if my son dies, he will be compensated directly and is done. After a large-scale war, there may be a situation where the family will be lost. If all male members of the military households die, they need to withdraw from the private households to supplement. This has accelerated the pace of people's escape and migration, and has caused the number of people in the Nine Borders to drop sharply, even if they want to find someone to serve in the military.

If it is a place around Datong, it is okay. A generation of people from Shaanxi and Shanxi can be recruited and transferred to the gates. It can be used as soldiers during wartime.

Juyongguan is awkward. To the north is Xuanfu, which is almost a "barren land". There are no households to be sent to the south is the capital. Even if Li Pin is crazy, he dare not offend the people in the capital. The people around the capital are guarding the emperor's tree, and they enjoy immunity after all.

The so-called "trial" is not entirely a forced recruitment. Before the Ming Dynasty implemented the "One Whip Law", labor service could not be exempted. If the number of people in the jurisdiction was to ensure the number of people in the jurisdiction was increased. If the number of soldiers in the defense zone at the gates was naturally insufficient.

What Li Pin said is the truth. Shen Xi knew that the crops in the north of the Ming Dynasty are now single in variety. The corn and sweet potatoes he introduced before have not yet spread to North China and the northwest. At the same time, the people would not be willing to farm in such land-rich but unsafe areas. They would rather be tenants in the south or work hard to survive.

Shen Xidao: "I know a little about what General Li mentioned. Although Juyong is the first pass to protect the capital, he is close to Xuanfu, the important town of the nine borders, and has always had difficulty in replenishing troops..."

He first gave Li Pin a signal, I understand your difficulties, not only I understand the court, so there is no need to complain, if you have difficulties, don’t talk about difficulties, don’t beat around the bush. "The court may migrate hundreds of thousands of lost people from the south within a few years after the war, enriching Xuanfu, Yanqing Prefecture, Baoan Prefecture and other prefectures to supplement the shortage of local troops!"

"Are you really that?"

When Li Pin heard the news, he was excited.

Shen Xidao: "I led the troops out of Juyongguan, and the troops in Juyongguan should be mainly defended. Do not attack lightly, so that the Tumu Fort disaster will happen again."

When Chen Xi mentioned the "Tumu Fort disaster", Li Pin's helpless face suddenly increased a little pride.

After the Tumu Fort Incident, hundreds of thousands of troops of the Ola attacked the capital, and Juyongguan held for seven days and seven nights, still standing tall, laying a solid foundation for winning the battle to defend the capital.

Li Pin originally learned that the Tatars were at the city, and was anxious, fearing that Guancheng would fall and he could not explain to the court. Now Shen Xi proposed an analogy. Yesen's troops were no more powerful than the current Tatars. What happened in the end? Didn't they return in Juyong and Guan?

Juyong Pass is stationed at the dangerous gate. As for the number of troops, it is not important. As the saying goes, one man should be a pass without ten thousand men. Five thousand soldiers and horses are not much different from fifty thousand soldiers and horses.

Although it sounds like self-deception, Chen Xi still cheered up Li Pin's spirit.

"Sir, the Tatars are now extremely powerful and cannot defend the nine-sided areas. The Tatars are very likely to be in the suburbs of Beijing. Are you still ready to go out of the pass to fight?"

Li Pin began to care about Chen Xi’s next strategy.

If Chen Xi said that he would station Juyong Pass and help him guard the most powerful pass in the capital, it would naturally be the result Li Pin wanted to hear the most, but he also knew that the emperor's orders led by Chen Xi were to recover Yulin Cangcheng.

Chen Xi asked: "How does General Li view this?"

Li Link: "Now outside Yongguan, Tatar cavalry is rampant. From the gate to Datong Prefecture, all the roads are sealed. The master leads troops to fight, and there are afraid that there will be no reinforcements everywhere. The army you lead... may not be able to confront the main force of the Tatar!"

Chen Xi sighed lightly: "General Li said that the Tatars are a nation on horseback, and the Mongolian cavalry can be said to be free and unobstructed. Even if I have thousands of soldiers and horses in the Beijing camp, the number of cavalry is pitifully small. Once I encounter the main force of the Tatars, my chances of victory are almost gone!"

Li Pin was stationed in Juyongguan for not a year or two, so he knew the power of the Mongolian cavalry. He sighed: "That is, Lord Shen, you lead the troops yourself. If you are others, not to mention the main force of the Tatar Central Army, even a small group of cavalry, even thousands of soldiers cannot resist it."

"So, sir, don't go ahead easily. It's better to start from Juyongguan with long-term plans and walk slowly. When the cold winter comes, the Tatars withdraw their troops, and follow them to gradually recover the lost territory and promote the prestige of our Ming Dynasty."

This can be said to Chen Xi's heart.

Li Pin said this in a tactful way. The point he put forward was basically the same as Chen Xi’s idea, that is, he did not rush to send troops and wait until the main Tatars retreated before attacking.

The enemy retreats and I advance, and I retreat. If the enemy advances and I retreat, I will not move. This is probably what it means. In fact, to put it bluntly, it means to keep the word "coward" and never confront the Tatars head-on, so that they will not encounter failure. Even if there is no great contribution in the final calculation of the credit, at least there is no mistake.

Originally, this suggestion was excellent, but the problem was that the court did not allow this. Chen Xi was sent to the northwest as cannon fodder by the court, and was responsible for the responsibilities of the governor of Yansui. The big men of the court would say, Chen Xi, as the governor of Yansui, had not yet arrived in Yansui Town, and he was still hundreds of miles away, but his purpose was to passively avoid the war?

"It is not advisable to wince."

Chen Xi smiled bitterly and said, "I must always be responsible for the people of the world. This battle with the Tatars is a war that my Ming Dynasty has prepared for a long time. In order to promote our country's power, if the Tatars take the initiative to withdraw their troops and attack, then I will become a joke for the people of the world. How can I deal with it in the court with my face?"

***************

ps: The third update is here!

Don’t think that the emperor wrote the Ming army too weakly. In fact, after the Tumu Fort Incident, even after the so-called victory, Guo Deng, Yang Hong, who defended Datong, Xuanfu and other Acropolis, were always brave and good at fighting, but when the Oirat attacked and passed through the border, they only knew that Yingcheng was defending itself; Zijing Pass was in danger and asked for help many times, and did not send troops, and they sat down to watch the heroic pass be broken; even the Oirat people retreated in failure and did not go out to block the city, and sat down to retreat freely.

Chen Xi was a civil servant, and he had no way to train troops. He used weak soldiers to deal with the Tatar cavalry. The consequences were unknown.

Of course, Chen Xi will definitely find a way to eventually defeat the Tatars! Please wait and see.
Chapter completed!